Ashikiba Takuto
Ashikiba Takuto is a third-year student at Hakone Academy and a member of the Hakone Academy Bicycle Club. He is introduced after the first Inter High. Ashikiba becomes the ace of Hakone after winning Hakone Academy's Inter High member selection race for the 42nd Summer Inter High, and has developed into an all-rounder. Appearance His hair is orange with pale blue/gray highlights and his eyes appear to be purple. He has a distinctive swirl in his bangs and a heart-shaped birthmark on his cheek. However, Ashikiba's most striking feature may be his height: he is 202 cm (about 6 feet and 7½ inches) tall. Personality Ashikiba is gentle and emotional, but a bit of an airhead, as exemplified when he mistakes Imaizumi for various other members of team Sohoku and is easily deceived by his teammate Kuroda. He is eager to impress his upperclassmen. While racing against Teshima in the Minegayama Hill Climb, he becomes emotional and joyous to the point of tears. When he lost to Onoda, however, he was so dejected that he missed his train stop by 3 stations, which could had been more had an elderly woman didn't enter the train, and Ashikiba didn't offer to give up his seat. Despite being an airhead, he is optimistic, steadfast and mentally strong, especially when he fought through the racing ban, and used his story to help Izumida change his mind about not being the first sprinter to ever be the captain of Hakogaku. He is also very stern and direct to Shinkai Yuto, who alienated the seniors because he hates the way they treated him as Hayato's brother, rather than his own person. Skills and Techniques Ashikiba listens to classical music, such as Beethoven, in his head as he rides. As a result, his technique of rocking from side to side is referred to as "Metronome Dancing." Which reminds Onoda of Makishima His bike's frame is so big that it makes his tires look really small. Since he is so tall, the length of the joints of his leg to his knee are incredibly long. Every time he turns the crank, it sounds like he's cutting through wind. Also due to his long limbs and Metronome Dancing, he has great stamina, even coming from the back of the pack, riding on the edge of the road and scratching the cliff face twice. Despite starting off as a climber, his length and reach is extremely crucial at the final lunge in a sprint finish, in which he is able to beat the much smaller Naruko and Midousuji to claim Day 1 line honour at the 42nd Inter High. He learnt to swing the bike because after his 10cm growth spurt since middle school, his center of gravity is too high to be an effective rider, especially in the flats. In year three, he became an all-rounder. His teamwork with Kuroda improved to such a point that he can become a great decoy. Using his height to attract attention make opponents think he is pulling ahead as an Ace, Kuroda can slip to the other side of the opponents to get back on track. This only works if the opponents are on the center of the road, however. He can also copy Shinkai Yuto's move of forcing opponents to the gutter or the side of the road. Ironically, Ashikiba did it in retaliation to Yuto near the end of the second stage of Inter High. Known Personal Achievements Trivia ;Likes * Bananas, being his favorite food. ;Dislikes * Like Manami, Ashikiba hates litterbugs, as proven on ep. 21 of season 4, when Ashikiba told Yuto that if he loses to Ashikiba, he must back-track to the beginning of the stage and pick up the banana chocolate bar wrapper that he threw on the ground. ;Misc *Mamoru Miyano also is the seiyuu for Shin Yoshimoto of Kumamoto Daiichi High School * Ashikiba and Doubashi have a somewhat good relationship with each other due to their similar situations with abnormally huge bodies. * Ashikiba's biggest worry when he started high school is the fact he keeps growing to the point that he can no longer control his body due to his growth spurt and higher center of gravity. * He lives in Hakone Gakuen's dorm. * When asked whether Ashikiba contacts anyone else who is close to him other than Teshima, Sensei replied that Ashikiba doesn’t charge his cell phone, or ends up saving messages in Drafts when he thought that he’d sent it. So basically, if he wants to talk to someone, he does so face to face. This fact is further proven when he missed the train station by 3 stops as he commiserates for his loss at Minegayama Hill Climb Race and the team can't find him. He stated he didn't charge his phone, and left it at home altogether. * He doesn't play piano as often because he doesn't see his friends from middle school. He provided the background music for Teshima's J-Pop impersonations, if they aren't in karaoke with Higashido. * According to Connect Road, a Level 1 5* Ashikiba's speed stats is very even (352 Climbing vs. 350 Sprinting), despite being listed as a Climber. Category:Hakone Academy Bicycle Club Category:Male Characters Category:Characters Category:Students Category:Cyclists Category:Climber Category:All-rounder